Maine Wire Sues Janet Mills for Violating Freedom of Access Act – The Maine Wire

The Maine Wire, Maine’s fastest growing digital news and investigative reporting outlet, announced Monday that it has filed a lawsuit against Gov. Janet Mills in Kennebec County Superior Court seeking compliance with Maine’s Freedom of Access Act.

Maine Wire Editor-in-Chief Steve Robinson, the plaintiff in the complaint, issued the following statement:

“For 195 days, Gov. Mills has refused to turn over her schedules for three days in Dec. 2023, blatantly disregarding the spirit and letter of Maine’s Freedom of Access Act. The Maine Wire will not tolerate government officials who illegally frustrate basic journalistic inquiry for their own political benefit.

“Ironically, it was Mills herself, when she was Attorney General, who articulated the view that 22 days was long enough for then-Governor Paul LePage to respond to a far more complex request. Mills is not only violating FOAA, she’s failing to live up to the standard she has imposed on others.

“The Maine Wire will vigorously pursue all legal avenues to ensure the Mills Administration — and all government entities — comply with government transparency statutes, whether it comes to this specific request for the governor’s schedules or the dozens of other outstanding public records that State of Maine employees are failing to respond to in good faith. Responding to FOAAs is not some added burden or nuisance; it’s an essential and core function of all government agencies.”

“Janet Mills is not above the law.”

Steve Robinson official announcement video:

[ At Maine’s Department of Education, Not All Public Records Requests are Equal…]